Browsed by
Category: Coalition

Reshuffle talk

Reshuffle talk

Comments 0 Comment

The possible ins and outs of the cabinet – according to today’s Sun newspaper. twitter.com/TSEofPB/status… — TSEofPB (@TSEofPB) June 8, 2013 In the past day there’s been a few stories about some upcoming reshuffles. In the Evening Standard it says David Cameron will carry out a ministerial reshuffle within weeks — with a second, more sweeping reshaping of his government towards the end of the year, the Standard has been told. The Prime Minister’s double shuffle will start in July,…

Read More Read More

No promotion and the backbenchers are restless

No promotion and the backbenchers are restless

Comments 0 Comment

  Do MPs feel that they’re off the leash with no government baubles to dazzle? The stability that coalition has brought to government is in many ways a good thing, allowing ministers to settle in post, become fully acquainted with their brief, see legislation through from design to statute, and reduce uncertainty. Almost certainly, there will be just the one significant reshuffle – that carried out last summer – with any casual vacancies filled with minimum disruption. No action (or…

Read More Read More

Is masterly inactivity the government’s best course?

Is masterly inactivity the government’s best course?

Comments 0 Comment

  Any meaningful new initiative will generate more trouble than it’s worth It is not unusual for the Queen’s Speeches of any given government to thin out as the parliament progresses.  Inevitably, those policies it ranked as most significant when it took office are likely to be introduced first, alongside the quick wins that help it to generate its own momentum. Consequently, by the second half of the parliament, what’s left are policies which are either complex or of secondary…

Read More Read More

Tory backbenchers warn “Cameron may have to break up the coalition to remain leader”

Tory backbenchers warn “Cameron may have to break up the coalition to remain leader”

Comments 0 Comment

The Sunday Times is reporting that (££) “A growing number of the talented 2010 intake of MPs, who could play a key role in deciding Cameron’s fate, now believe their party should withdraw from the coalition at least a year before the next general election in 2015. They believe Cameron may have to lead a minority government to save seats. “We are the ones who are going to be picking up the pieces if we go down in 2015. The…

Read More Read More

Off on my holidays..

Off on my holidays..

Comments 0 Comment

Just to say that I’m off on my holidays tomorrow and this should be the last post from me till a fortnight on Monday. We are heading for Italy and will be staying in Milan, Sorrento, Lecce and Bologna. We’ve never been to Pompei before and that should be a highlight of the first week. The site is in the capable hands of TSE. Mike Smithson

LAB moves to its best YouGov position for seven weeks

LAB moves to its best YouGov position for seven weeks

Comments 0 Comment

Ukip drop to 13% The latest YouGov daily poll is out and sees the Tories still in the doldrums below the 30 mark. The comparisons in the chart above are with a week ago which was before the reported “swivel eyed loons” that a senior CON figure was said to have made about party activists. The firm has tended to show show better than average figures for the Tories and today’s numbers suggest that the bad press they’ve been having…

Read More Read More

Local By-Election Preview : May 23rd 2013

Local By-Election Preview : May 23rd 2013

Comments 0 Comment

Whitwell on Bolsover Last Local Election 2011: Lab 32, Ind 4, Green 1 (Labour majority of 25) To view the result in 2011 please visit http://s3.datawrapper.de/BIZMe/ Dennis Skinner MP (Lab, Bolsover) has become as much of the Parliamentary Estate as Black Rod and the Speaker. Famed for his comments at each State Opening, is it any wonder that he has been named the “Beast of Bolsover” and was even immortalised in the CBBC comedy drama “Maid Marian and Her Merry…

Read More Read More

Your chance to win the ideal reference book for political anoraks

Your chance to win the ideal reference book for political anoraks

Comments 0 Comment

This will give you hours of psephological fun! Biteback has generously agreed to give copy of the latest volume by Professors Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, called “British Electoral Facts 1832-2012” as a PB competition prize. The book is an amazing treasure trove and my copy sits almost permanently on my desk. All you have to do is guess the CON and Ukip shares in the June Guardian ICM poll. The closest forecast will win. As with all PB competitions…

Read More Read More